Contour device



F. E. WALKER CONTOUR DEVICE Sept. 12, 1961 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 2,999,634 CONTOUR DEVICE Franklin E. Walker,Brockton, Mass. (6251 Nottingham Drive, Washington 22, DC.) Filed Jan.21, 1959, Ser. No. 788,240 6 Claims. (Cl. 23S- 61) This inventionrelates to a new and improved device for representing an irregularsurface such as that of a plotr of ground and making measurementsrelative thereto.

One object of my invention is to produce a device by means of which yanirregmlar ground surface can be easily plotted from -field notes so thatits general characteristics as a whole may be readily seen at a glance.Another object is to produce an instrument for quickly and readilydetermining the amount of excavation or fill necessary to convert suchan irregular surface into one which is level or having a desired slope.My machine seeks to enable one to balance the material to be excavatedagainst that to be deposited so that the minimum net amont of what musteither be brought in or taken away is determined. Ordinarily suchdetermination requires long and tedious mathematical calculations, whichare dispensed with by means of my instrument.

The above and other objects are accomplished by the means shown in theaccompanying drawings, fully set forth in the following description, andmore particularly pointed out in the claims.

Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my machine;

FIG. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of FIG. l, looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3--3` of FIG. 2, looking in the direction ofthe arrows;

FIG. 4 is. a. front elevation, detail part;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the same part; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective, partly in section, of the lower portion of partof my machine.

As best shownby FIGS. 1 and 2, a base 1, which may be of metal, hardwoodor plastic, has mounted upon it three separate units, A, a rubbercontainer; B, a gear box; and C, a cylinder. I have found approximatelyseventeen by sixteen inches to -be desirable for the base, and to have aheight of about seven inches for the container when in expandedcondition, contracting to a height of about two inches when incompressed condition. The above dimensions are merely suggestive.

The container A will first be described, reference being made to FIGS. 1and 2. There are two similar longitudinal walls 2 andv two similar endwalls 3, only one of which i's visible in FIG. 1. These four walls areof rubber, and each has similar upper and lower flanges 4, the lowerones being' so bonded tothe base 1` as to form air-tight joints. Theupper flanges 4 are perforated at their corners and intermediate oftheir longitudinal sides to slidingly receive the guide pins 5 which areanchored in the base 1 as shown in FIG. 2. This construction :nakes itpossible to collapse the container upon the base.

As best shown by FIG. 2, the top of the container is :omposed of twosheets 6y andl 7 of elastic rubber, the lpper one' 7 being subdivided byhorizontal lines 8 and Iertical ones 9' into a series of squares, eachbeing one lquare inch in area. As shown, this subdivided area of he topisboundedby a margin, these marginal portions )eing bonded to the upperflanges 4 -ofI the sides soas o form air-'tight joints. lt will be seenfrom FIGS. l tnd,2 that beneath eachintersection of the lines, that istt each-corner of a square, a circular disc 10 is located, hese discsbeing between and bonded to both the lower ind uppery sheets 6l and 7.Each.- disc is-anchored. to a able l'l'which extends through a coiledexpansion spring on a larger scale, of a 12, these cables being ofmetal, fiber or plastic. At the bottom of the container is a grid 13resting upon the base 1, the perforations 14 of which are located tocorrespond to that of the discs 10 in the cover. The cables` 11 descendvertically from the cover and pass through the holes of the grid to anunderlying space 15 hollowed out in the base 1. Spacers are placedbetween the grid and the bottom of the recess to keep them the properdistance apart.

Outside the container A between its longitudinal wall and that of thegear box B extends a spacer block 16 provided with circular passages 17through each of which passes one of the cables 12. In diagrammaticpartial view in FIG. 6, each cable is designated by the numeral 11 withsuccessive exponents for each one in a column. As shown, the cable 111passes through the lowest hole 14l of a column, then turning 90 to passthrough the first hole 17 at the right end of the spacer block 16. Inlike manner the second cable 112 passes through the second hole 142 ofthe column and then through the second hole of the spacer block, itbeing evident that each cable except the first must run diagonally fromits hole in the grid to that in the spacer block. Since the columns ofholes are an inch apart, there is room enough in the spacer block toaccommodate all cables coming from one column of holes before startingupon those of a succeeding one. The cables all pass through the spacerblock directly into the gear box unit. It is evident that since eachcable is directly connected to a disc 10 of the composite double layercover, any desired portion thereof may be depressed by pulling theproper cable 1l against the action of the expanding spring 12 encirclingit. Each row of points of intersection of the lines 8 and 9 on the cover(where cable attachments are made by means of the discs 10) is given acolor to aid in the selection of the proper cable to be drawn by meansdescribed below. Each cable is graduated into unit and half unit lengthsindicated by separate colors, a labeled guide key indicating theirmeaning being placed on top of the gear box unit described below.

The gear box unit is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, although FIG. 1 showsits relation to the whole device; Brackets 1S of metal or plastic aremounted at each end upon the base 1, being bonded to it so as to beair-tight, and their upper right-hand corners being connected by a steelrod 19. The upper left-hand corner of the box is supported by the endsof a system of closely adjacent Winder carriers 29 described below, thissystem extending the full length of the unit. Over the frame thus formedby the brackets 18, the rod 19 and the ends of the Winder carriers 29 isstretched a rubber cover 20 bonded in an air-tight manner at its ends tothe brackets 18, along its front bottom longitudinal edge to the base 1,and along its rear bottom longitudinal edge to the upper surface of thespacer block 17 through which pass the cables 11 into the interior ofthis unit. Along the front of the unit extends a window 21 of anytransparent material which can be bonded to the cover 20.

Within the gear box unit is the operating mechanism. The first member ofthis is an electric motor 22 of the type used to operate automaticpencil Sharpeners. It is mounted on a suitable support and has on itsshaft a pinion 23 engaging a gear 24 that in turn engages a gear 25which directly engages another gear 26, it being evident that Ithe lasttwo gears 25 and 26 must turn in opposite directions, and therefore thesimilar pinions 27, one carried by each, must also revolve in oppositedirections. These pinions are splined gears which 4extend the fulllength of the unit. These splined pinions are formed from rubber,plastic or metal cylinders having as cores steel rods. The gears 24, 25`and 26 are stamped from metal or plastic.

The pinions 27 are i for alternative engagement by gears 23, a pair ofwhich are mounted on each Winder carrier 29.

One Winder carrier 29 and associated parts are best shown in FIGS. 4 and5. The upper part is an integral member which intermediate its lengthforks into two portions 30 between which are mounted the gears 28forming parts of a winding drum 31, the drum and gears being mountedupon a pin bearing carried by the forks 30. Below its forked portion thecarrier 29 has a cross arm 33, the ends of which have extending fromthem at an angle the ilanges 34, the ilange at one end extending in theopposite direction from that at the other end. Each flange engages aswinging pawl 35 and keeps it in contact with one of a pair of bumpers37 extending the full length of the unit and formed of steel rodscovered with rubber. Each pawl 35 is pivotally mounted upon one of apair of rods 36, and normally contacts one of the pair of gears 28holding it against rotation, these gears being pressed from sheet metal.Each carrier 29 is at its lower end pivotally mounted upon a rod 38running the full length of the gear unit. In the neutral position shownby FIG. 2, the gears 28 are out of contact with either pinion 27 and arelocked by the pawls. If now the carrier 29 is swung upwardly, its gears28 engage the pinion 27 attached to the gear 25 and rotates in onedirection, having been carried out of contact with the left-hand pawl,While the righthand one ratchets over the gear teeth because ofthe shapeof the pawl tooth. If the carrier 29 is lowered, the wheels 23 engagethe pinion 27 attached to the gear 26. In this case the right-hand pawlhas been released from contact with the gears 23, while the left-handone ratchets over them. There is a carrier and drum arrangement for eachcable, and all the ends of carriers carrying drums connected to cablescoming from the same row of discs are colored to correspond to that onthe upper cover sheet 7 mentioned above, so that by looking throughWindow 21 the proper carrier 29 with its winding mechanism can beselected. As has been stated above, the ends of the carriers aredirectly beneath the cover as shown in FIG. 2. As shown by the samefigure, an operating lever 39 is pivotally mounted upon a rod 4t)extending across the gear unit directly above the cover 20. This leveras shown has a forked end which can be slid into `engagement with theend of any one of the carriers 29. This rod 40 is supported by brackets43 mentioned hereafter. Each cable 11 after passing through one of theholes 17 in the spacer block 16 is led over an idler pulley 41 to itswinding hub 31 to be wound or un- Wound in the manner described above.It is to be understood that the constantly running motor 22 keeps inrotation the gears 24, and 2.6 together with the pinions 27. Through thewindow 21 the differently colored units of length can be read as thecables 11 are wound or unwound. When any cable is unwound, its slack istaken up by its expansive spring 12. The toothed gears 24 to 28 may bereplaced by friction ones. Each drum 31 is driven at one revolution asecond.

The cylinder unit C is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A cylinder 42 oftransparent material is supported between the brackets 43 which aremounted upon the base 1. In

it is a sliding piston 44 which has no piston rod and which is concaveat each end to form a flexible skirt which tends to be pressed by theenclosed air into sealing contact with the cylinder wall. At each end isa vent 45 communicating with the atmosphere, this vent being controlledby any form of valve, though I have shown a slide type. Also I haveshown at one end a tube 48 which puts the cylinder into communicationwith the gear box unit B. Since the openings 17 in the spacer block 16give communication with the container unit A, all three units thus formone air-tight receptacle. Upon the cylinder 42 are two scales. The upperscale 46 represents cubic units of the container unit, while the lowerscale 47 reads in each direction from a zero mark, the readings on oneside showing the units added by any expansion of the cover due tounwinding of the cable drums 31 and action of the springs 12, while thereadings on the other side show the units lost due to contraction of thecover by the Winding up of the cables.

The device is operated as follows:

For a problem concerning the amount of cut and ll necessary to level anairstrip, the civil engineer makes his regular elevation readings in theusual manner. He then proceeds to set up the problem on the device. Heselects a scale of distance to be used for each unit of distance on thecontainer cover 7. He then starts at one corner and works either up oracross the setting points determined by the intersection of the lines 8and 9. The coloring of the ends of the carriers 29 facilitate this, aswell as the coloring of the unit lengths on the cables 11, observationsbeing made through the window 21. The lever 39 is moved up or down toeither wind or unwind each cable 11 in the manner already described,eachl drum being locked by the pawls 35 when the desired reading hasbeen reached. At the completion of this setting operation there resultsa representation of the surface which may be studied. During the abovesetting operation both the cylinder vents 45 are open to the atmosphere.

The piston 44 may now be moved to the zero mark on the lower scale 47 bygently blowing into the appropriate open vent 45, these then beingclosed. The engineer then adjusts the cable to produce the desiredairstrip surface, and in doing this he endeavors to so give here andtake there as to keep the piston as near as possible to the zero mark onthe lower scale, this indicating that all cuts have been balanced byills. The nal cut indicates the net amount of cut or till. He then takesthe indicated readings at each point to determine the setting of hisgrading stakes.

In a problem concerning the amount of water backed up by a dam theengineer sets up the system in the same manner, then closes one vent 45.The only diierence is he moves the piston to the opposite end of thecylinder from the tube 48. By means of the carriers 29 he sets up a darnon the device. From the cylinder he can read the fill necessary for thedam. He then resets the piston to zero and brings all the points behindthe dam up to the proposed water level. The piston detlects to the markshowing the exact amount of water, in cubic units of the device thatwill be backed up behind the dam. In case the cylinder will not measurethe full amount of the volume in one setting, the valve 45 can beopened, the piston repositioned, and the valve closed again. Then thewater level can be raised to take care of the balance necessary. Thisprocedure can be repeated if necessary to measure any amount of fillthat can be recorded on the device.

For military use, tactical contour problems can be set up, the aircylinder not being used.

With my device an operator can get desired results in a rapid mannerwhere otherwise complicated mathematics would be required. An operatorcan in very little time be taught its use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A contour device comprising a supported flexible surface subdividedinto areas, a multiplicity of Winder carriers, a multiplicity offlexible cables anchored at one end in said flexible surface to dependdownwardly therefrom and anchored at the other end each in one of saidWinder carriers, an expansion spring around each of said flexible cablesfor upwardly urging said flexible surface, a stationary gear box fromwhich said Winder carriers may be controlled to vary through saidflexible cables the height of said flexible surface, and indicia meansat said gear box serving as indicia of the height at which each saidflexible cable holds its respective portion of said flexible surface.

2. The contour device of claim 1 in which said surface is a portion ofan air-tight container, and which includes means for measuring thechanges of volume in said container.

3. A contour device comprising a supported exible surface, amultiplicity of Winder carriers, a multiplicity of llexible cablesanchored at one end in said exible surface to depend downwardlytherefrom and anchored at the other end each in one of said Windercarriers to adjust said exible cables, and an expansion spring aroundeach of said flexible cables for upwardly urging said flexible surface.

4. The device of claim 3 in which said Winder carriers arecorrespondingly pivotally mounted in side-by-side relation, each windercarrier including a winding drum in which said cables are anchored and acarrier gear concentric therewith, and which includes a pair ofoppositely rotating spline gears each extending alongside said carriergears on opposite sides thereof, a pawl pivotally mounted on each sideof each said carrier gear for intermittent movement out of engagementtherewith, an elastic bumper associated with each said pawl for normallyurging the same into engagement with its respective carrier gear, eachsaid winder carrier including also a handle for use in moving the sameabout the pivotal mounting thereof and a pair of opposed angespositioned to engage said pawls, whereby said winder carriers may beselectively pivoted in one direction to release one said pawl and engageone said spline gear or in the other direction to release the other saidpawl and engage the other said spline gear, the pawls having a ratchetaction in opposite directions whereby when one pawl of a pair thereof isdisengaged the direction given the Winder gear by the spline gearengaged is such that the other pawl of said pair does not impedemovement of said carrier gear.

5. A differential volume contour device comprising a flexible surfacecollapsibly supported over a base to deline with other elements anair-tight zone therebetween, an air-tight gear box communicating withsaid zone, a cylinder mounted for selective communication with saidzone, a multiplicity of flexible cables anchored each at one end thereofin said liexible surface and at the other end thereof in separatetensioning means for moving the same downwardly at said exible surface,and a multiplicity of springs mounted around said cables and extendingbetween said base and said flexible surface for constantly urging thelatter upward, said tensioning means being mounted in said gear box forindependent operation by means positioned outside an air-tight wallthereof, and said cylinder including a piston for movement therealong toregister changes of volume in said zone.

6. A differential volume contour device comprising a llexible surface, amultiplicity of separate tensioning means for independently raising andlowering separate points on said surface, means cooperating with saidsurface to dene therebeneath an air-tight zone, means outside anair-tight wall of said device for operating said tensioning means, andair-tight volumetric measurement means selectively ventable with saidzone.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,278,632 Gerashenevsky Sept. 10, 1918 2,612,700 Frisk Oct. 7, 19522,685,749 Davenport Aug. 10, 1954 2,869,058 Poland Ian. 13, 19592,928,176 Hallisey Mar. 15, 1960

